Shattering Bubbles

Jan. 7, 2014

It was really, really, REALLY cold here at the beginning of January, so we decided to try shattering some bubbles. 

It took a little but of finagling, but we managed to get a few to shatter! 

Bubble

Shattered!

We got smarter and started blowing the bubbles inside the house and carefully placing them outside (trying not to let them pop in the wind). This bubble deflated rather than popped, but still fun! 

It was also pretty sweet to watch the ice crystals forming in the tin under the bubble. After about 30 seconds outside, they would start to form. Then they would form very rapidly until the entire tin was frozen. Very cool to actually watch crystals form!

Summer

Books: ?
Song: Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?
Craft: popsicles, Jello Jigglers
Outside: if it's summer, show things that are summery.  If it's not, talk about what it would look/feel like
Food: summer foods--fresh fruit/veggies, popsicles, Jello, chips, Kool-Aid (picnic)

Prepare in advance:

• picture of tree in the summer
• box of Jello, sprayed pan
• fruit juice, popsicle makers
• box with summer clothes inside--swimming suit, shorts, short sleeves, sunglasses
• picnic stuff (if it's nice enough outside for a picnic)
• pretend camping stuff

Begin with song, then books.

Craft time (do it first so that the Jello will be ready): 

• popsicles--fill popsicle makers with juice, put in freezer
• Jello Jigglers
• make Jello using half the indicated amount of boiling water
• pour into a greased pan, let sit for an hour
• use a knife or cookie cutters to cut

Today we'll learn about SUMMER (have them repeat).  

• What is the weather like in the summer?
• What clothes do we wear in the summer?  Have them pull items out of the bag and say why they would need that item in the summer.

What do trees do in the summer?

• Have all their leaves
• Grow fruit

What do animals do in the summer?

• grow big & strong
• eat lots of food

What do people do in the summer?

• play! beach, sports, parks, pools
• eat food from gardens
• stay inside where it's cool
• picnics/vacations
• outside things like hiking/camping (pretend to go camping)

Outside: observe/discuss summer scenes, have a picnic with summer foods if it's nice outside!

Spring

Books: The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman
Song: Little Purple Pansies
Craft: plant bean seeds in paper
Outside: if it's spring, show things that are starting to grow.  If it's not, talk about what it would look/feel like

Prepare in advance:

• bean seeds, paper towels, ziploc bags, tape
• bag full of spring clothes: long pants, rain boots, umbrella, etc.
• picture of trees with buds, leaves, flowers
• pictures of baby animals
• hide some flowers/pictures of flowers around the house

Begin with song, then books.

Today we'll learn about SPRING (have them repeat).  

• What is the weather like in the spring?
• What clothes do we wear in the spring?  Have them pull items out of the bag and say why they would need that item in the spring.

What do trees do in the spring? (show pictures)

• first buds show, then leaves start to grow
• some trees start getting flowers 

What do animals do in the spring?

• stop hibernating
• come back from where they went in the fall
• have babies/make nests (show pictures of baby animals)

What do people do in the spring?

• clean houses (pretend to clean--or really clean!)
• plant gardens (pretend to dig/plant seeds)
• look for flowers (find the flowers you've hidden)
• jump in puddles (pretend to jump in puddles)

Craft time: plant beans

• get a paper towel damp
• place damp towel into ziploc bag
• put one or two bean seeds into the bag, zip closed
• tape in a window where it will get lots of sun
• check to make sure paper towel isn't drying out or molding

Outside: observe/discuss spring scenes 

• show where flowers are/will be growing
• show some nests

Fall

Books: Seasons by Robin Nelson
Song: It's Autumntime
Craft: leaf rubbings
Outside: if it's fall, show changing leaves.  If it's not, talk about what it would look/feel like
Food: fall foods--soup, nuts, berries, pumpkin/pumpkin seeds

Prepare in advance:

• leaf rubbings--paper, crayons with paper torn off, leaves
• bag full of fall clothes: long pants, long-sleeved shirt, jacket, etc.
• picture of trees with fall leaves, evergreen trees

Begin with song, then books.

Today we'll learn about FALL (have them repeat).  

• What is the weather like in the fall?
• What clothes do we wear in the fall?  Have them pull items out of the bag and say why they would need that item in the fall.

What do trees do in the fall?

• leaves turn colors, fall off, EXCEPT for fir trees (Christmas trees)

What do animals do in the fall?

• store food for the winter (pretend to find and store food)
• fly south to warmer weather (fly around)

What do people do in the fall?

• Halloween/Thanksgiving
• eat cider/soup
• harvest & store food (show any food you've stored)
• rake leaves and jump in them (pretend to do this--or actually do it if you can!)

Outside--gather leaves for rubbings (observe/discuss fall scenes)

Craft--make leaf rubbings!

Enjoy fall food together.

Winter

Books: Snow! by P.D. Eastman, Welcome Winter by Jill Ackerman
Song: Once There Was a Snowman
Craft: paper snowflakes, marshmallow snowmen
Outside: if it's winter, show things that are wintery.  If it's not, talk about what it would look/feel like
Food: winter foods--soup, cocoa, nuts, berries, cookies

Prepare in advance:

• paper snowflakes--paper, scissors, yarn, tape
• marshmallow snowmen--big marshmallows, toothpicks, straight pretzels, Kisses or mini PB cups
• bag full of winter clothes: long pants, coat, hat, gloves, scarf, boots, etc.
• picture of trees with no leaves, evergreen trees

Begin with song, then books.

Today we'll learn about WINTER (have them repeat).  

• What is the weather like in the winter?
• What clothes do we wear in the winter?  Have them pull items out of the bag and say why they would need that item in the winter.

What do trees do in the winter?

• leaves are all gone--just branches left, EXCEPT for fir trees (Christmas trees)
• sometimes branches break off from snow & ice

What do animals do in the winter?

• grow warm coats--put on warm coats/blankets (some change colors to match snow)
• hibernate (define, have them repeat)--pretend to hibernate in a 'cave' somewhere
• stay inside, eat food they've stored in the fall

What do people do in the winter?

• play! sledding, ice-skating, snowball fights, build snowman (act these out if you can)
• shovel snow (pretend to shovel snow)
• stay inside--keep warm, fires in fireplace
• Christmas--make cookies, give gifts

Craft time: marshmallow snowmen!

• stack marshmallows using toothpicks
• use pretzels for arms
• use PB cups or Kisses for hats

Additional craft: paper snowflakes

• help them fold, let them practice cutting

Outside: observe/discuss winter scenes (play in the snow if that's an option!)

Food--enjoy winter food together!

Weather

Books: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Song: Rain is Falling (add wind blowing, snow falling, sun shining)
Craft: weather pictures
Outside: What kind of weather is it?  What should we wear?

Prepare ahead:

• box with clothes for different weather:
• rain: boots, umbrella, rain coat
• sun: sunglasses, hat
• snow: gloves, scarf
• wind: jacket
• thermometer
• weather picture supplies
• 4 small pieces of cardstock
• wind: thin paint and a straw
• sun: pipe cleaner(s), glue
• snow: cotton balls or fuzz balls, glue
• rain: glitter, glue
• weather wheel

Lesson:

Begin with song, then read book(s).  

Today we're going to talk about WEATHER (have them repeat 'weather')

• weather is what we see and feel outside
• show THERMOMETER & explain how it works

Go on a weather hunt inside your house:

• sun=oven (hot), use thermometer
• wind=fan, use thermometer
• snow=freezer, use thermometer
• rain=shower, use thermometer

What should we wear in different weather?

• pull out box of clothes you've prepared, have them decide which ones they'd wear in which kind of weather.

Craft--weather pictures:

• sun--let them shape the pipe cleaner into a sun, then help them glue it on (we used rubber cement)
• wind--dab some drops of thin paint onto the paper, let them blow it around
• rain--let them put some glue on the paper, then sprinkle 'rain' (glitter)
• snow--let them glue on cotton/fuzz balls 

What is it like outside today?

• Use weather wheel--let them decide what the weather is like
• Let them decide what to wear based off what they picked out of the box